Hi guys,
I’m about to scratch build a jerry can rack for a 1:35 tank and I would rather do it with the strength of brass than the flimsiness of plastic. I need fine brass strip, maybe .020" thick, and maybe .040" to .060" wide. I’ve not sound suppliers yet who offer gauges that small, and I don’t fancy my chances of cutting perfect strip from sheet – I’m no metalworker! Does anyone know of a firm providing metal so fine?
Cheers, Mike/TB379
Would 0.12mm x 100mm x 250mm work?
store.spruebrothers.com/…/albsm1m.htm
With a new blade, and a cork backed ruler, you should be able to cut strips with a few repeated passes.
You can also take a look at scrap sections from PE sets. Just might find something there that would only require a little clean up via snips and a file.
regards,
Jack
Hi Jack – it’s mainly the cutting I’m not sure about, I’ve never tried scoring through sheet metal, and when looking for such close tolerances it could be rather hit or miss… I thought of the etch scrap earlier, and I have several large frets from another project that are mostly empty. If I could find enough to do for the short uprights of the rack, I could potentially do the long strips in plastic, pre-formed with heat at the corners, and that should hold itself up well enough with superglue…
There was a metalsmith in England, John K. Flack of Devon, back in the 80s and 90s, who supplied a huge range of fine brass sections, but he doesn’t seem to be in business anymore. K&S don’t do strip in the same gauges as the plastics firms, more’s the pity…
Thanks for weighing in, I’ll bear in mind the idea of splitting off some strips from a sheet – I’d only need three long ones, and they would probably only be around 90mm, plus a few uprights. With care I might be able to cut enough strips to get round the job.
Cheers, Mike/TB379
You can also cut thin brass with ordinary household scissors, they provide a very clean cut. Depending on the width though, it can tend to curve on you.
regards,
Jack
true – and I’m looking for only about 1.5mm width, which would probably curl a lot… It would be so much easier if somebody just made strip that size! 
Easy answer- aluminum.
I use it for replacing gear doors on my 1/72 aircraft almost every time.
Source?
Grab a can of soda or beer.
Cuts with a scissors or an knife. So cheap that you can make a bunch of strips and select the good ones.
You are painting it after all.
GM - nice one!
I’d never thought of that, as I don’t drink pop, and usually buy bottled beer.
regards,
Jack
It sure would! I’m not so sure if doing it in plastic is not the easiest thing - if you take some styrene sheet, a metal ruler and a sharp blade, making some nice strips is fast and easy. Then you can weld them with lacquer thinner and it really holds. Or if you go for metal, use copper sheet, not brass, it’s softer. Even if it curls while cutting, it’s easy to straighten it again and it looks good. It could also be soldered - superglue also has a chance to hold, but that can be tricky at times. There are also companies that could etch a custom PE for you - maybe that’s the way to go if you insisted on brass. Anyhow - good luck with your project and have a nice day
Paweł
I don’t drink anything in cans either. Prefer my beer in growlers. But sometimes you have to take one for the team. Hans had a very similar observation to yours last time I suggested it. I’ll be posting my Neptune in a bit in the Latino GB, with thin doors.
If you do not need to solder, or the “look” of brass, why not use strip styrene. It is available in the size you need.
My first recommendation would be to give GMorrison’s suggestion a try, it’s cheap and readily available materials. My second recommendation that if you don’t wish or care to go that route is to Google K&S Precision Metals. Most LHS seem to have a stock of their materials (even noticed you can buy their materials on Amazon). HTH
Unfortunately, K & S does not make really narrow strips. I think their narrowest is quarter inch. Brass is a frequently used material in Model Railroading. Maybe look at the RR section of the LHS, or go to Walthers web site- they are a large supplier of Model RR stuff and do have some scratchbuilding supplies.
you might try this;
You’ve had some good recommendations here ;
I would after carefully considering your question , recommend the plastic strips .I build in 1/96 for my multi - ship client .Can you imagine how small a helmet rack in a twin forty mount is ? Well , I use strip Evergreen H.O. scale 2x4s to create them . It curls like Christmas ribbon too ! A 1/96 scale helmet is about the size of a small chocolate drop like Nestles makes for cookies . actually a little smaller . My last two helmets were " Soft " pellet gun ammo cut in half .